Poison
by Diedre D'Nai
Summary: Stein is losing his mind to the witch Medusa. Unsure of whether his own feelings or the madness is pulling the reigns.


_Song: Poison by Alice Cooper_

* * *

><p><em>Your cruel device<br>__Your blood, like ice  
><em>_One look could kill,  
><em>_My pain, your thrill._

He was losing touch with reality. He knew that. With the calm that comes from over-composure, Stein let the ciggerate smoke leave his lungs.

Loss of control was one thing. He had watched Spirit do it since they were kids. It was a perfectly normal emotion, love or lust. He had experimented with it in his youth, watching the reactions of women with calculated perscion. Every move, carefully within parameters, excluding all other variables to test the way people's souls were affected.

Love was important. It was necessary for a meister, the only way to resonate at maximum capacity. He loved Spirit, loved the way Spirit had slept through all his experiments. He loved everything. Everything was an experimental test-subject, and he lived for those.

This was different. He clutched his head in his hands. If she had been anyone else, he might have just tried to accept it. To go along with nature's experiment and let himself be the independent variable for once. But not this time. This time, it could have been something Medusa had engineered. And he refused to be her plaything.

_I wanna love you, but I'd better not touch,_

He couldn't shake the sound of her voice when she asked him to join her.

_(don't touch)_

The thrill at the thought that she needed him.

_I wanna hold you, but my senses tell me to stop. _

She was a sadist. She was too close to home to even resemble a good idea.

_I wanna kiss you, but I want it too much_

His body trembled, sending shivers through the lines of scarring as he remembered the way she fit in his arms.

_(too much)_

Like a scapel in his hand.

_I wanna taste you, but your lips are venomous poison. _

You could never trust snakes.  
>"Are you alright Stein?" Spirit had appeared in the hallway in front of him, "You don't look too good."<br>"I'm fine, Spirit." He twisted the screw on his head, trying to realign his thoughts. The death-scythe gave him a quizzical and generally unconvinced look. Stein smiled, and pushed his glasses up his nose. Spirit sighed.  
>"Look, something's eating at you and as your partne-"<br>"You're not my partner." Stein pulled himself upright, slumping slightly, "You haven't been my partner in 15 years." He looked at Spirit, "Funny, you slipping up on that. You didn't even call me that when we were partners." He chuckled, "At least, not often." Stein stuffed his hands in the pockets of his lab coat, feeling the comforting cold steel of his scapel.  
>"I'm going home."<br>"Ah...okay..." Spirit had no choice but to watch Stein's back as he left.

_You're poison,_

Stein threw himself on to his bed when he reached his laboratory. The stiches felt nice against his skin, almost like he might be able to breathe again. This woman. This Medusa, she was an infection.

_Running through my veins. _

And he was a doctor, after all, he could cut her out of him if he wanted. His hands flew to the marker in his pocket. Where did love infect? The head, always in his thoughts? His loins? Where? He looked down at his torso and smiled.

_You're poison. _

He let his lab coat fall open, and pulled the shirt from over his head, smiling to himself.

_I don't wanna break these chains. _

"Get a hold of yourself, Stein." He let the marker fall out of his hand. "You need to be more in control. With the Kishin's madness in the air, the smallest slip could tumble you down the mountain into the abyss of chaos."  
>"Would that be so bad?" He heard a voice, and turned his head almost automatically. His eyes traveled up bare-feet with painted toes to the pure white of a buttoned lab coat. Up the curves and the arms shoved into the pockets, to the noose-like blonde hair and the sadistic yellow eyes.<br>"Hmm." He turned his attention back to the ceiling. "If you're not a hallucination, I have to kill you Medusa."  
>"Then I'm a hallucination." She crossed the room to stand by his bed. She knelt down on the sheets, pushing him back with one hand.<p>

_Your mouth, so hot. _

"I don't trust you." He whispered as her lips drew close to his.  
>"You don't have too." She whispered. He could feel the flicker of magic, but it lasted only a moment before she closed her mouth over his.<p>

_Your web, I'm caught_

He wanted this. Maybe it was a trap. Maybe, no, definitely, it was the madness. But he wanted this. He kissed back, reaching up and pulling Medusa closer. She was the only person to match wits with him. The only person in over a decade who had made him tremble with fear. He wanted this.

_Your skin, so wet. _

Her hands traced snake patterns on his bare flesh. Sending tingles down his spine. He sat up, pulling her onto his lap. One hand dug into her hair, wrenching her head backwards and arching her breasts into him. He tore the labcoat open with his teeth and felt himself smile that she wasn't wearing anything underneath it.

_Like lace, on sweat_

Her pale skin was covered with swirling snake tattoos, and soft to the touch as it pressed into his bare torso. He wanted to cut into it. He wanted to open her up and look inside at whatever machinations made this damned woman. He loosened her grip on hair, causing Medusa to roll her head forward and push him roughly onto his back, her hips rocking against his loins. He couldn't stifle the moan and Medusa's eyes lit up with delight.  
>"I want to cut you into ribbons." He exhaled. Medusa grinned, bending forward and biting into the side of his neck, he felt the skin give way, and then Medusa's tongue as it lapped up the droplet of blood.<br>"You can try." She whispered in his ear. Stein flipped her on her back, and loomed over her.

_I hear you calling and its needles and pins. _

He pressed their lips together, hard enough to bruise them, with one hand he lifted her legs, positioning himself. Medusa smiled at him, her slitted yellow eyes blazing.  
>"Do it." She whispered, her hands snaking up and pulling his hair back, "Cut me. Succumb to the madness, Stein." He wanted to. His hands shook as he reached for the scapel.<p>

_(and pins)_

The tattoos were the perfect disection lines. He pushed into her. He wanted to mar that flawless skin and turn it into something even more beautiful. Medusa arched under him, wrapping her legs around his hips, her breathing raspy and in time with his movements.

_I wanna hurt you just to hear you screaming my name_

He placed the knife tip on her skin.

"Stein?" Stein's eyes shot open. He was alone, leaning over empty space, his breathing ragged and a rather embarressing erection as Marie pushed to door of his bedroom open.  
>"Go away!" He snapped. The door pulled closed and he sat up, struggling to control his breathing. He was shaking. The madness had never grabbed him like that, never tugged at other urges beyond what Spirit called homicide.<p>

_Don't wanna touch you but you're under my skin,_

He reached his hands up and covered his sweat-covered face.

"I...I'm going to do some shopping." Marie's embarressed and panicked voice called through the lab,  
>"W-wait..." He wasn't sure the sound left his lungs. He pulled the blanket, covering his lap.<p>

_(deep in)_

"What do you need?" Marie sounded frail and awkward as she pressed on the door of his room, pushing it ever so slightly ajar. She stood in the door way, sillouetted.  
>"I...I'm not myself...Marie." He admitted, baffled by his own confession. Marie's face softened.<br>"Its alright, Stein." She turned to leave the room, "I'm going to get something for dinner. I'll see you when I get back." He nodded as Marie closed the door, revealing Medusa's smiling figure behind it.

_I wanna kiss you but your lips are venomous poison. _

"Will you come to me?"  
>"I need to..." He clicked the screw in his head, "Clear my head." He pulled his clothes back on. He wanted nothing to do with that witch. He wanted everything to do with that witch.<p>

Conflicted, Stein stepped onto the mist-filled streets.


End file.
